The present invention relates to the field of Web pages containing URLs that identify streaming-media-content sources and, in particular, to methods and data structures for assigning URLs on the Internet to graphical objects (such as buttons) displayed on Web pages.
In recent years, there has been a tremendous proliferation of computers connected to a global network known as the Internet. A xe2x80x9cclientxe2x80x9d computer connected to the Internet can download digital information from xe2x80x9cserverxe2x80x9d computers connected to the Internet. Client application and operating system software executing on client computers typically accepts commands from a user and obtains data and services by sending requests to server applications running on server computers connected to the Internet. A number of protocols are used to exchange commands and data between computers connected to the Internet. The protocols include the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), the File Transfer Protocol (FTP), the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Gopher and other protocols.
The HTTP protocol is used to access data on the World Wide Web, often referred to as xe2x80x9cthe Web.xe2x80x9d The World Wide Web is an information service on the Internet providing documents and links between documents. The World Wide Web is made up of numerous Web sites around the world that maintain and distribute Web documents (a/k/a Web pages). A Web site may use one or more Web server computers that are able to store and distribute documents in one of a number of formats including the Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML). An HTML document can contain text, graphics, audio clips and video clips, as well as metadata or commands providing formatting information. HTML documents also include embedded links, such as URLs, that reference other data or Web pages located on the local computer or network server computers. xe2x80x9cURLxe2x80x9d is an abbreviation for xe2x80x9cuniform resource locator,xe2x80x9d the global address of documents and other resources on the World Wide Web.
FTP is the protocol used on the Internet for sending files. Further, SMTP is a protocol for sending e-mail messages between servers. Most e-mail systems that send mail over the Internet use SMTP to send messages from one server to another; the messages can then be retrieved with an e-mail client. In addition, SMTP is generally used to send messages from a mail client to a mail server.
Gopher is a system that pre-dates the World Wide Web for organizing and displaying files on Internet servers. A Gopher server presents its contents as a hierarchically structured list of files. With the ascendance of the Web, most Gopher databases are being converted to Web sites which can be more easily accessed via Web search engines.
A Web browser is a client application, software component, or operating system utility that communicates with server computers via FTP, HTTP and Gopher protocols. Web browsers receive Web documents (i.e., Web pages) from the network and present them to a user. Internet Explorer, available from Microsoft Corporation, of Redmond, Wash., is an example of a popular Web browser.
Recently, many users have started utilizing their Web browsers to locate streaming-media sources. After a streaming-media source is located, the Web browser works in conjunction with a media player in order to play the media on the client computer""s monitor and/or speakers. An example of a popular media player is Windows Media Player, also available from Microsoft Corporation. A streaming-media source is a source (e.g., a URL) that xe2x80x9cstreamsxe2x80x9d media/data to a client computer. Streaming is a technique for transferring data such that it can be processed as a steady and continuous stream. Streaming technologies are becoming increasingly important with the growth of the Internet because most users do not have fast enough access to download large multimedia files quickly. With streaming, the Web browser or media player can start displaying the data before the entire file has been transmitted. An example of a streaming-media source is a radio station that xe2x80x9cstreamsxe2x80x9d its broadcast to users on the Internet. In this example, the streaming-media source (i.e., radio station) is loaded from the Internet and played on a client computer using the Windows Media Player.
Unfortunately, there are a number of problems with currently available Web pages that attempt to identify available streaming-media sources, such as radio stations. For example, the prior art usually provides one or more Web pages that contain myriad hyperlinks to various streaming-media sources. These Web pages are slow and are difficult to navigate. Some Web pages are hierarchical in that selection of one hyperlink leads a user to another Web page that contains even more choices. However, each time a selection is made, the entire Web page needs to be replotted (i.e., regenerated and redisplayed). Again, this method is inefficient as well as confusing to the user. Another problem is that users are unable to customize streaming-media content on Web pages. For example, prior-art Web pages do not allow users to identify their preferred streaming-media sources and do not provide users with preset buttons for quick navigation. Lastly, the prior art does not allow users to assign their preferred streaming-media sources to graphical objects depicted on the Web page. Similarly, the prior art is unable to remember a user""s preferred streaming-media sources.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved methods and data structures for assigning URLs on the Internet to graphical objects (such as buttons) displayed on Web pages. In short, this will help users to locate, place and use streaming-media sources.
The present invention is stored as computer-executable instructions on a computer-readable medium. One aspect of the present invention is a text box and at least one button displayed on a Web page. Using a Web browser, a user is allowed to manually enter a zip code into the text box. After manual entry of the zip code, at least one URL geographically relevant to the zip code is assigned to at least one graphical object, such as a button. The URL identifies a source of streaming-media content such as a radio station. Thus, for example, input of a zip code can cause the present invention to assign the URLs for radio stations within or in close proximity to the zip code to buttons displayed on the Web page.
This zip code can be stored in a data field in a cookie data structure. The present invention uses the zip code contained in the cookie data structure in order to assign URLs to buttons each time the Web page is displayed. After entry of a zip code, the zip-code text box can be replaced with a hyperlink that identifies the current zip-code selection and allows the user to modify the chosen zip code.
Another aspect of this invention is a method of providing and selecting from a menu on a display, wherein the invention includes a computer system with a graphical user interface having the display and a user interface selection device. A plurality of radio buttons is displayed on a Web page and each of the radio buttons is associated with a set of menu entries. A user is allowed to select one of the radio buttons and the set of menu entries associated with the selected radio button are then retrieved and displayed. A user is next allowed to select one entry out of the set of menu entries. The results corresponding to the user selected one entry are displayed on the Web page.
Preferably, the plurality of radio buttons is selected from a group consisting of: U.S. State, International and Format. The menu items corresponding to the xe2x80x9cU.S. Statexe2x80x9d radio button can include: Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and/or West Virginia, as well as any other state in the United States. Similarly, the menu items corresponding to the xe2x80x9cInternational radio button can include: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Mexico, Portugal, Senegal, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Turkey, United Kingdom and/or United States, as well as any other country in the world. Further, the set of menu items corresponding to the xe2x80x9cFormatxe2x80x9d radio button can include: Adult Contemporary, Alternative Rock, Christian Contemporary, Classic Rock, Classical, Country, International, Jazz, Miscellaneous, Modern Rock, News Radio, Oldies, Sports Radio, Talk Radio, Top 40 and/or Urban, as well as any other music format.
In another aspect of the present invention, computer-executable instructions display a Web page to a user on a client computer. After the user makes at least one selection on the Web page, search criteria are identified based on the selection made by the user. The client computer transmits the search criteria to a server. The server identifies at least one URL satisfying the user search criteria. Preferably, the URL identifies a radio-station source of streaming-media content. The server returns the URL to the client computer where the URL is displayed in an IFRAME on the Web page. By displaying the URL in an IFRAME, the Web page need not be replotted each time the server identifies URLs satisfying the user selection criteria.
In still another aspect of the present invention, computer-executable instructions allow a user to assign at least one URL to at least one graphical object, such as a button, displayed on a Web page. Information identifying the user""s assignment is stored in a data field of a cookie data structure. The computer-executable instructions use the information contained in the cookie data structure in order to assign the URL to the graphical object each time the Web page is displayed. Preferably, the URL identifies a radio-station source of streaming-media content.